Tag: state
-
Governors issue 14 executive orders from April 3-9
Nationally, governors issued 14 executive orders from April 3-9. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) led the field with three each, followed by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) with two. Governors in 41 states issued the fewest orders with zero. Governors use executive orders to manage executive branch…
-
27 candidates filed for federal and statewide offices last week
27 candidates filed for federal and statewide offices last week Ballotpedia identified 27 declared candidates for federal and statewide offices over the previous week. All of these candidates declared prior to their state’s official filing deadline. That number is eight more than the number of candidates processed the previous week (19). Twelve of those candidates…
-
States sue Biden administration over ESG in retirement plans
Twenty-five states announced on January 26 that they had filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration alleging that, in their view, the Department of Labor’s new rule allowing for the consideration of ESG factors in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)-governed retirement investments increased portfolio risk and violated the law: “A group of 25 states…
-
31 states release the partisan affiliations of registered voters: 39% are Democrats, 29% are Republicans, and 29% are independents
Thirty-three U.S. states and territories report the party affiliations of registered voters as indicated on their voter registration forms. In states with closed primaries, affiliation with a political party can be a condition of participation in that party’s primaries. The remaining states either do not request partisan affiliations on their registration forms or they do…
-
U.S. weekly unemployment insurance claims rise to 235,000
New applications for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits rose 4,000 for the week ending July 2 to a seasonally adjusted 235,000. The four-week moving average as of July 2 rose to 232,500 from 231,750 as of the week ending June 25. The number of continuing unemployment insurance claims, which refers to the number of unemployed workers…
-
Where could voters see marijuana on the ballot in 2022?
Ballotpedia is tracking 20 citizen-initiated measures in nine states related to marijuana that could appear before voters in 2022. As of 2022, recreational marijuana is legal in 18 states and Washington, D.C., and medical marijuana is legal in 36 states and D.C. In Ohio, sponsors of an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana submitted an additional…
-
Ballotpedia publishes June’s edition of State Ballot Measure Monthly
This edition of the State Ballot Measure Monthly report covers certifications and a selection of notable ballot measure news from May 17 through June 17. Here are the highlights: • 10 statewide measures were certified for the 2021 ballot in Louisiana, Maine, New York, and Texas. • One measure was removed from the 2021 ballot…
-
Noah Valenstein resigns as secretary of Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein stepped down from his position on June 4. He had led the agency for over four years since former Gov. Rick Scott (R) appointed him on May 23, 2017. Shawn Hamilton, the department’s deputy secretary for land and recreation, will take over as interim secretary. In his…
-
State FOIA request response times
Each state has different laws governing the release of information by public entities. Often called open records laws, public records laws, or FOIA laws after the federal Freedom of Information Act, these laws regulate the process through which a person can request public records. Those laws often set the length of time within which a…
-
Tennessee legislature votes to send amendment providing for an acting governor to the 2022 ballot
On May 4, the Tennessee General Assembly voted to send a constitutional amendment to provide a process, along with a line of succession, for an acting governor when the governor is unable to perform the office’s powers and duties. The ballot measure would allow the governor to provide a written, signed declaration saying that he…